Ben Jealous, the former Maryland gubernatorial candidate turned Sierra Club executive director, is “on leave” from his post at the national environmental advocacy group.

The move comes after significant turmoil during Jealous’ tenure, which began in early 2023.
The Progressive Workers Union, which represents Sierra Club employees, has slammed Jealous for his management of the organization, citing several rounds of layoffs over the past few years and other labor disputes. It argues he has placed the nonprofit on unsure footing at a time when President Donald Trump’s (R) administration is loosening environmental regulations and targeting clean-energy projects.

Jonathon Berman, a spokesperson for the Sierra Club, confirmed Jealous’ leave but declined to comment further, calling it a “personnel matter.”

It remains unclear why Jealous is on leave or for how long he will be absent.

In an email sent to Sierra Club staff Friday, Michael Parrish, the club’s chief operating officer, said that a longtime Sierra Club higher-up, Loren Blackford, would serve as acting executive director in Jealous’ absence.

Erica Dodt, president of the Progressive Workers Union, cited recent layoffs in a news release Monday.

“When facing budget challenges, we have been told and believe that Jealous’ executive team increased its size and salaries all while laying off staff critical to Sierra Club’s success,” Dodt said.

With Jealous on leave the union looks forward to “working with managers and the Sierra Club Board of Directors to right the ship, and to rebuild trust between the union, non-represented staff, and volunteers,” said Dylan Plummer, unit representative for the Sierra Club Unit of PWU.The union issued a vote of “no confidence” in Jealous last year, and nonunionized Sierra Club managers and certain chapters took the same step.

Between January 2023 and April 2025, the union estimates that Sierra Club cut 97 staff positions. More recent announcements of upcoming layoffs would bring the total to 140, according to a June news releasefrom the union, which represents 364 Sierra Club staff.

“The Sierra Club must be a strong leader against the Trump administration’s attempts to eliminate bedrock environmental policies and protections,” Plummer said. “It’s incomprehensible that the Sierra Club Board and executive leadership would again discard the very people who stand on the front lines every single day to carry out this work.”

Jealous, 52, was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2018, but lost overwhelmingly to incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan (R), despite running in a blue state. Hogan, who became only the second Republican governor in Maryland to win a second term, won 55.4% of the vote to Jealous’ 43.5% in the general election.

Before his run with the environmental organization, Jealous made a name for himself as a civil rights leader, serving as the youngest-ever president and CEO of the NAACP from 2008 to 2013. After his gubernatorial run, Jealous led the civil rights organization People For the American Way, beginning in 2020.

But the Progressive Workers Union has charged Jealous, the first person of color to lead the Sierra Club, with laying off disproportionate numbers of staffers of color during his tenure. A 2023 layoff was almost half “Black, Indigenous, People of Color,” according to PWU, though BIPOC staff were about 28% of the organization.

The union has also filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board, including one arguing that its bargaining team leaders were being targeted for layoffs because of their union activity amid contentious negotiations for a new contract.

“Ben Jealous’s tenure at the Sierra Club has been defined by unprecedented union busting, never-ending layoffs, and the demoralization of staff at the organization,” said CJ Garcia-Linz, a Sierra Club employee and former PWU President, in the June news release.

This story originally appeared on MarylandMatters.org